POP QUIZ / Q & A With Ray Manzarek

Next year marks the 30th anniversary of Jim Morrison's death. That hasn't stopped the Doors from staging several hugely successful comeback attempts. This year saw one of the grandest, as original members Ray Manzarek, Robbie Krieger and John Densmore reconvened for the tribute album "Stoned Immaculate" and a live VH1 special -- both of which featured lead singers from contemporary bands such as Stone Temple Pilots, Creed and Smash Mouth filling in for Morrison. Now the band is reissuing several previously unavailable live recordings through its official Web site (www.thedoors.com). We spoke with Manzarek at his Los Angeles home. .

Q: Why does VH1 like the Doors so much all of a sudden?

A: Our manager, Danny Sugerman, put that all together. He said, "Here's a bunch of lead singers that would love to play with you, so let's play." Sure enough, it all came together. It was a lot of work, but he did a great job. Bill Graham used to be able to pull that stuff off.

Q: Did you know any of these bands existed before you played with them?

A: Oh, sure. Of course.

Q: What were the criteria?

A: It depended on availability, who was in the country, who could make it to Los Angeles. Also who was interested. Bono wasn't interested, so we said, "Fine, we don't want you anyway. You're too old." You've either got to be as old as John Lee Hooker or a young guy.

Q: Jim Morrison would hate this tribute record, wouldn't he?

A: Why do you think he would hate it?

Q: Because these are his songs.

A: And he wouldn't like other people singing them?

Q: It doesn't sound like they really got it right.

A: Ah. No, I don't think Jim Morrison would hate it. I think he would dig other people doing the songs. Your next question probably is, "Did you hate Jose Feliciano's version of 'Light My Fire'?" No, it was interesting. It's always fun to hear other people do your stuff, to hear how they do it. Jim would have loved to hear other people doing our songs.

Q: Some would argue that every Cult or Smash Mouth song is a tribute to the Doors.

A: That's what I say. Really, man. They've been ripping us off, or borrowing, as they say, for years. It's not as if we didn't borrow. We borrowed from the blues cats and Miles Davis and John Coltrane. We did all that stuff, so why shouldn't these guys borrow from the Doors? That's what you're supposed to do. You borrow from the guy who sits behind you. You're climbing this ladder and it's going straight into the sun.

Q: Did you feel the chemistry you had with Morrison with any of these guys?

A: Yeah, he's really good. He's got such a strong voice. If I had to pick a favorite, I would say Ian Astbury.

Q: And how did it feel to play with the other original members again?

A: I tell you, it was like riding a bicycle. You never forget. Sitting down with John and Robbie, we played "Light My Fire" and it was like, "Boom!" It was perfect, like we played the song last week. Halfway through, it felt like we were back at the Whiskey.

Q: So you like playing all this old stuff?

A: Absolutely. It's like a trip back in time, back to the psychedelic era. What true hippie wouldn't want to be in the psychedelic era? The psychedelic era was a lot more fun than when George W. Bush becomes president. The '60s were a lot more fun than it's going to be the next four years under a Republican government.

Q: Wasn't (Richard) Nixon president when the Doors were around?

A: Sure, but it was too late. He couldn't stop it. He didn't get in there until 1968, so everything was rolling. The Beatles, the Stones, the whole British Invasion had happened. We had all taken our LSD and mushrooms and whatnot in the mid-'60s. By the time Nixon took over we were fully psychedelicized. The whole country was in revolt against the Vietnam War. Now we're going to have to revolt against the spoiling of ecology in the nation of America.

Q: Tell me about the last Morrison dream you had.

A: It was probably within the last six months. He was back, and nobody asked him where he had been. He comes in and we're in a rehearsal studio, sort of like the Doors workshop. It's like what he said to me on the beach before we put the band together. I said to him, "What have you been up to?" And he said, "I've been writing songs." And that's the point at which the dream ends. I never hear the songs. It's so frustrating. I wake up just before Jim begins to sing, and I never get to hear the songs.

Q: Last time we talked, you were lobbying hard to have them crack open Morrison's coffin when his lease is up at that French cemetery next year. A: Well, now would be the time. Can you imagine the crowd that would be there for the digging up of Jim Morrison's grave? There would be thousands of people shouting to open the coffin. It would be too surreal. It would be something like Kafka.